The Amnesiac Fiancé

I woke up in a hospital bed with a concussion I got while saving my girlfriend. The first thing that came to mind was to play a little joke.

Who... are you? I asked, looking at her.

I saw Chloes expression freeze, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

But then, she pointed to her best friend, Aria, who was standing beside her. "I'm a friend of your fiance," she said coolly. "This is your fiance, Aria."

My smile froze on my face.

Aria took a step forward, her expression unreadable. "That's right. I'm your fiance."

I forced a weak smile. "Then... let's go home."

...

Aria took me home. Her home.

I looked around the unfamiliar apartment, a space that held absolutely no trace of my existence. No photos, no stray jacket, nothing. I lowered my head and started fiddling with my phone, trying to ground myself.

"Do you want to get some rest first?" Aria's voice was soft, gentle. She was playing the part of a loving fiance perfectly.

"Okay," I nodded, using the amnesia as a perfect excuse to let her lead me to the bedroom.

She seemed to let out a breath of relief once I was lying down. I closed my eyes, the air filled with her scentunfamiliar, but surprisingly pleasant.

A few minutes later, I heard a familiar voice drift in from the other room.

"Aria, you're the best friend a girl could ask for! Please, just pretend to be his fiance for a little while?"

It was Chloe. I sat up, peering through the crack of the bedroom door, which wasn't fully closed.

"Aren't you afraid he'll get his memory back one day?" Aria asked.

They must have thought I was asleep; Chloe had her on speakerphone, her voice filling the quiet apartment.

"Oh, please. If he remembers, I'll just coo at him a little, give him a few kisses and hugs, and he'll melt," Chloe said with a syrupy sweetness that felt like a shard of glass in my gut. "He loves me so much, he'd never dream of leaving me."

So that's what I was to her. Replaceable. A piece of trash she could throw away and pick back up whenever she felt like it, all because I loved her too much.

"I'm just a little bored," she continued, her voice light and careless. "We've been together for so long. I just need a little space, a little excitement to feel alive again. It won't be for long."

"And I know you can't stand Ethan. So just think of it as doing me a huge favor, okay?"

I never heard Aria's reply.

She walked further away, her voice fading. I pushed myself up, opened the door, and slowly walked toward the balcony where she stood.

This should give her a scare, a wicked little thought surfaced.

But as if she sensed me, Aria turned around. Our eyes met.

She quickly ended the call and walked toward me, wrapping her arms around my waist and resting her head against my chest.

"I thought you were resting. Why are you up already?"

She snuggled against me, and for a surreal moment, it felt like we really were a couple who had been in love for years.

"I'm a little hungry," I said, my smile never reaching my eyes.

Aria didn't seem to notice.

"What do you feel like eating? How about the perfect omelet?"

Her words made me pause. My love for a perfectly cooked, fluffy omelet was a small, secret thing. Not even Chloe knew about it.

"Okay," I nodded. I gently unwound her arms from my waist, feeling a strange sense of unease, and sat down at the small dining table.

Aria didn't seem to mind, simply turning and heading into the kitchen. I watched as she expertly tied on an apron and began to cook.

I rested my chin in my hand, a dizzying sense of dj vu washing over me. This was it. This was the scene I had always imagined for my future married life.

I just never imagined I'd be living it with my fiance's best friend.

Soon, a golden, fragrant omelet was placed in front of me. Aria sat opposite me, her chin propped in her hand, watching me with a warm, genuine smile.

My heart gave a sharp, painful jolt. I quickly looked down, scooped up a bite, and brought it to my mouth.

It was perfect. Unbelievably good.

"Is it good?"

I didn't answer. My body was more honest than my words as I quickly took another bite.

Aria laughed softly at my eagerness. She leaned forward and gently brushed a stray crumb from the corner of my mouth with her fingertip.

"No one's going to steal it from you," she teased. "Slow down. If anyone saw you, they'd think I was starving you."

The sudden intimacy made me press my lips together. For a split second, our eyes met, and I heard a frantic, pounding heartbeat.

Was it hers? Or mine?

I didn't know.

I looked away, tilting my head back slightly. Seeing my hesitation, Aria just smiled, a sad, knowing little smile, and leaned in to press a feather-light kiss to my forehead.

"It's okay," she whispered.

"I know you've forgotten me. We can take it slow."

"Alright?"

Looking into her deep, gentle eyes, I found myself nodding before I could even think.

But none of it made sense. For all the years I'd known her, Aria had never shown the slightest interest in me. In fact, everything about her behavior suggested she felt the same way Chloe claimed she did.

That she hated me.

I stared at her, trying to solve the puzzle.

Which one was the real Aria?

"I'm going to a party with some friends tonight," she said, breaking the silence. "Do you want to come?"

Friends? An image of Chloe flashed in my mind.

"Yes."

When Aria led me into the private room, I was hit by a chaotic mix of perfume and alcohol. It was packed, a tangle of bodies and loud music.

Chloe was sitting right in the center of it all, with a familiar man beside herLeo, her high school sweetheart, the one that got away.

As we watched, the crowd roared them on, and they fell into a deep, passionate kiss.

They only broke apart when they saw me enter. I could see the glint of challenge in Leo's eyes.

"Oh, you're here," Chloe said, leaning against Leo's shoulder with a lazy smile. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Leo." She punctuated the announcement with a sweet, shy kiss on his cheek.

"Hey, I'm Leo," he said, extending a hand to me, his smile warm and disarming. As if the look he'd just given me was a figment of my imagination.

"Nice to meet you," I replied politely, acting as if I'd never seen him before.

But I'd seen him a hundred times. In photos on Chloe's phone, in the pages of her diary, in the drunken, sentimental whispers she thought I couldn't hear.

I followed Aria to a quieter corner and sat down. No one spoke to us, but I could feel their eyes darting between the four of us, hungry for drama. In this circle, I had always been the butt of the joke.

But tonight, with Aria by my side, they seemed to keep their distance.

My gaze drifted to her. She was already looking at me, her expression soft and warm.

Seeing the silent exchange between us, Chloe, who had been cuddling with Leo, suddenly sat up straighter.

Her eyes narrowed at Aria, her voice dripping with an acid I didn't recognize.

"You and your fianc seem to be getting along really well," she said, her tone sharp. "You've got all your friends here, but it's like you can't see anyone but him."

The sourness in her voice was unmistakable. It was the bitterness of someone who felt like they were being cheated on.

And yet, she was the one who had pushed me into Aria's arms.

I almost laughed.

"Of course we do," I said, unable to resist.

The sound of my voice cut through the noise. "We're engaged. It's only natural that we'd be close."

Silence. The entire room seemed to freeze.

"Alright, alright, enough of that! Let's play a game!" someone shouted, breaking the tension.

Chloe shot Aria a dark look before settling back with her boyfriend.

"Let's play the King's Game," the person suggested. "Whoever draws the King card gets to pick two numbers and make them do any dare they want."

The idea was met with enthusiastic approval.

After the first round, the two numbers called belonged to Chloe and her boyfriend. At the King's command, they had to French kiss for two minutes and post a video of it online.

As they kissed, I could feel Leo's eyes on me, watching for a reaction. When he saw my face was a mask of indifference, he finally turned his full attention back to Chloe.

When they finished, Chloe looked at me, a flicker of guilt in her eyes. But when she saw me calmly sipping my drink, she visibly relaxed.

The second round, the chosen numbers were mine and Chloe's.

The dare: I had to carry her, princess-style, and do five deep squats.

As the others grinned knowingly, I smiled right back.

Chloe glanced at Leo, whose face had hardened, then stood up with an impatient sigh, as if being paired with me was a punishment.

"Can't we pick someone else? I have a boyfriend."

I looked up at her, at the undisguised annoyance on her face, and I let out a soft laugh.

"You're right."

At my response, Chloe froze, looking at me in disbelief. "What did you say?"

"You're right," I repeated, letting a hint of regret color my voice. "You have a boyfriend, and I have a fiance. We shouldn't be doing games like this together."

I sighed dramatically. "I guess I'll just take the penalty drink for failing the challenge."

The moment I reached for my glass, Chloe's hand shot out to stop me. Her face was a storm cloud of anger.

"I can do it with you," she said, the words practically forced through her clenched teeth.

"No, that's okay," I said, shaking my head as she glared daggers at me. "Aria would get upset."

I turned to look at Aria, who was watching the exchange with a surprised expression of her own.

"That's what I used to call you, right?" I asked her, my voice full of feigned confusion. "Or was it Ari? Or maybe Sweetheart?"

I was dancing on every one of Chloe's last nerves.

As expected, in the next second, she grabbed Aria by the arm and stormed out of the room. I followed a moment later, using the excuse of being worried.

At the end of the hallway, Chloe's voice was shaking with rage.

"Aria, what the hell have you done to Ethan?"

"I haven't done anything," Aria replied, her voice and expression a picture of pure innocence. "Isn't this how he always was with you?"

"He was always so terrified of making you angry," she continued calmly. "The only thing that's changed is the person he's afraid of upsetting. His devotion is the same."

Aria's words hit their mark. Chloe bit her lip, taking several deep breaths, unable to find a single word to refute the truth.

"Just I'm warning you," Chloe finally spat out. "Stay away from him. I asked you to act. I didn't ask you to make it real!"

"I know," Aria replied, her calm smile never wavering.

"You know I can't stand him."

I didn't wait to hear more. I turned and went back to the party.

When they returned, they were arm-in-arm, the perfect image of inseparable best friends.

The party raged on. I ignored the challenging glances sent my way and allowed myself to relax and mingle. My newfound ease seemed to catch Chloe's attention, and I felt her eyes on me throughout the night.

Perhaps she was just surprised to see the quiet, boring man she'd grown tired of suddenly become so alive.

Late that night, everyone went their separate ways.

Aria helped me back to her apartment, supporting my drunken, stumbling form. The moment I sank into the soft mattress of the bed, I grabbed her wrist.

"Aria."

My voice, husky with alcohol, seemed to catch her off guard. She stood frozen by the bed, her cheeks flushed.

On the outside, I was a drunken mess. But inside, my mind was perfectly clear.

I needed to prove something.

With a gentle tug, I pulled her off balance, and she tumbled onto the bed beside me.

Under the cover of being drunk, I leaned up and kissed her.

The moment our lips touched, her eyes flew open in shock. But a second later, she took control, her arms wrapping around my neck, pulling me closer.

The air in the room crackled with a sudden, intense heat.

After a long moment, we slowly pulled apart.

"Ethan," she whispered, her eyes shimmering. "I had so much fun tonight."

Her words were weighted with meaning. My hand, resting at my side, curled into a fist.

Aria's words and her actions were two completely different things. She said she hated me, yet she never once pushed away my touch. She had even kissed me back.

I didn't understand.

Back when I was with Chloe, Aria had made her disdain for me perfectly clear. No matter how hard I tried to be kind, to win her over, she was always cold, always distant. She openly mocked my relationship with Chloe, telling her to her face that we would never last.

I had learned to avoid her at all costs.

But now, after I'd "lost my memory," after Chloe had literally handed me over to her, she was a completely different person.

Was she just trying to protect her friendship with Chloe?

If so, this was going way too far.

My thoughts were a tangled mess. For now, I decided to stop trying to unravel them. I would just continue to play my part in their little drama.

Arias performance was flawless.

Every day, she made sure I ate well. At night, she held me as we slept. In the morning, she greeted me with a gentle smile. She even called my work and, citing my medical condition, got me a month of leave.

My days were spent in her quiet apartment, watching movies, tending to her plants, taking walks in the nearby park. It was a simple life, but it was filled with a strange, peaceful happiness I hadn't realized I was missing.

Until a phone call shattered the calm.

I saw Chloe again.

She was leaning against a sleek motorcycle, dressed in tight shorts, a form-fitting tank top, and a leather jacket. She looked impossibly cool, a radiant, confident smile on her face.

Looking at her, I quietly clenched my fists.

When we were together, I had always worried about her old back injury. I never wanted her to do anything dangerousno street racing, no bungee jumping. She always said I was overreacting. I'd gently suggest she not wear revealing clothes when we went out, not because I was controlling, but because I worried about her safety. If she insisted, I'd always have a jacket ready, silently watching over her.

To her, all of my concern boiled down to one word.

Suffocating.

She said I was stifling her, chaining down her free spirit.

And now that she had pushed me away, she was finally free to breathe.

She spotted us and waved, her smile bright. I gave a polite, distant nod in return.

My muted reaction clearly wasn't what she wanted.

She strode over to me, deliberately tugging her shorts down a little lower. "Ethan, how do I look today?"

"You look great," I said, giving her the answer she was fishing for.

But her expression only grew darker.

"But not as great as Aria."

I was doing it on purpose. If she was allowed to push me away, why wasn't I allowed to compliment someone else?

My words hit their mark. I could see the anger flash in her eyes.

"You know," she said, changing the subject, "Leo organized this whole race today just for me. Because he likes me so much."

I just nodded again. "That's nice."

My placid response seemed to frustrate her even more. She huffed and stomped back over to Leo. As their friends cheered, she pulled him into another passionate kiss, her eyes locked on mine the entire time.

Only when she was certain I truly didn't care did she finally push him away.

Her lipstick was smeared across her mouth, but she didn't notice. She grabbed a megaphone from someone nearby.

"I have an announcement to make!"

Her gaze found mine again as she took Leo's hand and wrapped it around her waist.